The future of transportation would surely not be on the roads. Agreed, the majority would be zooming to work on the highways. Yet there will be a considerable number of commuters using futuristic mass transit systems like the Hyperloop or a Pod Taxi service. Better yet, many would be making use of the vast expanses of air, through air taxis, air pods or the coolest of them all, flying cars or hoverbikes.
Hoversurf, a Russian firm that builds drones, plans to expand into this space and already has a solid lead, having announced its hoverbike offering called Scorpion 3. What¡¯s more, an updated S3 2019 version of the hoverbike is already up for pre-orders and you can order one for yourself too, i.e. if you have got an extra $150,000 (~Rs 1.1 Cr) to buy it and Rs 7.3 Lakh reservation deposit.
Hoversurf
A commendable feat on the hoverbike is that the company has used a single element for the?monocoque frame of the hoverbike for structural integrity and rigidity. This also helps restrict its weight to 114 kg and creates space for a larger battery. The company mentions a safe flight altitude of 16 feet above the ground.
The part motorcycle part quadcopter is powered by a 12.3 kWh hybrid battery providing a 10 to 25 mins flight time with a driver, as per the company. It has been fitted with new engines of 33 kW each and boasts of a maximum legal speed of around 100 km/h, though it the company has not specified if it can go faster.
Hoversurf
For obvious reasons, an important aspect for eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) vehicles is safety. For this, the Scorpion 3 appoints features like Auto-take-off (AT), auto-landing (AL), Alt Hold, Manual, and RC control. The company claims to have used a triple security system, including an electronic system comprising of emergency landing, sound and visual warning system as well as anti-interference screening, a mechanical kill switch and a passive system with embedded deformation zones, power fences, and protective elements for the pilot.